Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman's corsage. Before Lily can solve the woman's magical ailment, she's asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community.

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Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman's corsage.

Before Lily can solve the woman's magical ailment, she's asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She's gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women's charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well-intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany....

IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE is a well-written, fast-paced supernatural cozy mystery with a little romance and a little action. I wish there was a little more romance for Lilly, but, perhaps that will be in future books. Lilly is slowly realizing what she is capable of and finding her place in San Francisco. The next book seems to offer more challenges for Lily. I can't wait.

Witch and vintage clothing store owner, Lily, has a knack for getting herself into "interesting situations". For what starts out as a lovely evening out with fellow witch, Aidan Rhodes, ends up in a mystery when a lady at the Art Deco Ball collpases and Lily thinks foul witchy play is involved!! When Detective Carlos asks for Lily's help with the death of a witch, Tarregan Dark Moon "Tara", Lily thinks the two may be connected. As she delves further into another coven she discovers some very evil magic at play.

I like the Witchcraft mysteries because they are always unexpected!! Lily's life is never boring. Besides the main mystery there is always a lot going on and I never finish reading one of these and think it was dull. For all the things that Lily is, she certainly isn't dull. In this one Lily gets to go to a fancy ball, try to untangle a murder case and help Miriam, who collapsed at the ball and is in a coma!! If that isn't enough there is also her love life. Definitely not dull.

Lily is a interesting character. She was chased out of her hometown by witch hunters and hasn't gotten close to anyone. Even her own mother doesn't like that she's a witch. But she's settling into a good life now, with her vintage clothing store and making friends with fellow witches. I like watching her life evolve, as she becomes happier with herself and her place in San Francisco.The Witchcraft Mysteries are truly magical. They are everything I love about magical cozy mysteries are more than just a murder mystery! I'm excited to start the next one.

I listened to In a Witch's Wardrobe with the narration by Xe Sands and I can only use one word to describe her narration... flawless. She is the voice of Oscar, Lily's familiar, to me and her narration is part of the reason I love this series so much. If you like audiobooks I suggest trying this series on audio.

Lily Ivory's San Francisco vintage clothing store is doing well, absorbing and selling whatever Lily's discerning eye brings in. Now is the time for Lily to shop for herself to attend an art deco charity ball featuring vintage clothing for all. It is always interesting to read Lily's descriptions of the clothing and the details of each piece.

Lily attends the Ball with Sailor, the rough and tough friend of Aidan Rhodes, the most powerful male witch in town who acts as a sort of godfather. The two men are on/off friends with differing abilities, with Sailor stronger in psychic abilities. This series of books has brought out the many different types of witchcraft there can be - almost as individual as the practitioner. Lily's strengths are her abilities to read vibrations from textiles and brewing potions.

When Lily visits the opulent lady's room during the Ball, she notices one woman sitting on the chaise who appears unwell. As Lily speaks with Miriam, she lays down and goes to sleep. Lily senses that some sort of sleeping spell might have been placed on Miriam's corsage since she finds a hex when she examines it. They call for 911 when they can't rouse Miriam, and Lily swears she catches a glimpse of her in the mirror!

Lily meets Miriam's husband and son and promises to do what she can. However, she keeps getting called away to Bay area poisonings and trying to solve them as well. Lily and Sailor finally break into the building where the ball took place and where Miriam's spirit is still stuck. They must travel quite some distance in the dark under the stage area, and run into all sorts of ghosts, some having fun and some quite nasty. The ghosts pulled at them and tugged their hair and made their passage difficult. They find a Victrola along the way which they bring with them to record what Miriam is saying. Since she is behind a mirror, everything is backward, including her speech, so they make a recording they can play backward later to try and make out what she is saying, much harder to do on the spot.

This is a fascinating entry in the Witchcraft series, and Lily learns how far she has come since those lonely first days in the Bay area. It has been special to watch her grow. The rest is for you to learn as you read this terrific entry in the Lily Ivory series. I have been listening to the series on audiobook and enjoying Xe Sands narration immensely. It has brought the book to life in yet a different way than sitting in solitude and reading quietly. I'm off to "read" the next in the series. I'll have these all read in a month, quite a record for me.

Lily Ivory books are not books that I feel that I have to read one right after another, but I do enjoy them and will read them all eventually. For those who like a clean paranormal story without detailed sex or cussing, this series would be a good selection. I really like the friendships Lily has formed. I also enjoy how Lily tries to help others the only way she knows how. I hope that Lily's love life stays on this same trek, I have liked Sailor from the beginning. There is no great mystery here with this book, it was slightly predictable, but that is not the charm of this series. I do recommend reading in order. My only complaint is that the narrator is so slow I found myself nodding off some, so I against my better judgment I increased the speed on the narration and found that I wasn't quite as bored with her reading.

In Juliet Blackwell's "A Witchcraft Mystery" series, she creates a world in which natural witches and witches who had no skills before training exist side by side, each learning and practicing differently, but each having an effect.

What does Xe Sands bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Xe Sands really brings Blackwell's characters to life. I can visualize them better. Excellent narration.

If you could take any character from In a Witch's Wardrobe out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Juliet Blackwell and Xe Sands continue to enchant me with this fourth tale in this series. If you are an admirer of the cozy mysteries, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning of the series and you will be hooked. Don't be scared off by the idea of witchcraft. The author weaves it in nicely and in a way that makes you a believer.

If you could sum up In a Witch's Wardrobe in three words, what would they be?

Witty ExcitingEntertaining

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oscar; Lily’s familiar. He is the most unusual of characters. He is always entertaining and intriguing. Lily does not know much about him, or even if he is HER familiar, or sent to spy on her. Each book she gets to know a bit more about him. In this book, she inquires about his age and instead of telling her, he just tells her that is a rude question.

Have you listened to any of Xe Sands’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have only listened to Xe Sands's performances in Blackwell's books. I find her pace and characterization to be very easy to listen to and entertaining.

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